The Association of Registered Freight Forwarders of Nigeria (AREFFN), and the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) have thrown their weight behind the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agent (ANLCA) in the call for the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to open up a window for the owners of the smuggled seized vehicles to pay up duties on those vehicles and have their vehicles released to them.
Shipping Position Daily recalls that ANLCA recently appealed to the Controller General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Col Hameed Ali (Rtd) to open a window of special concession for agents to pay duty on illegally imported vehicles and also allow their importers to legitimize such vehicles particulars.
Speaking with Shipping Position Daily in Lagos last week, the founder of AREFFN, Dr. Frank Ukor, who lauded the request by her sister, association, ANLCA also charged the customs to do more in the area of information and sensitization of Nigerians about smuggling.
He said that most people involved in smuggling are yet to get any information about the act even as he said he doesn’t believe in auctioning of vehicles.
He also said that vehicles auctioning is a big loss to the government and a big gain for individuals.
“I am completely in support of ANLCA’s suggestion; from time to time, customs should open a window. You know that window they opened last year was not enough for people and you also know that Nigeria is a very large country and it is not everybody that read the paper everyday to get inform. So you will agree with me that most of the people still doing this have not gotten the information about that. So let them open up a window so that people can come and claim their vehicle. Even all the luxurious cars that have been seized, they owners should be called to come and pay their duties and carry their cars. Obviously that is what I believe I never believed in auctioning of vehicles. If you arrest them call the owner let them pay penalty, penalize them for doing that, then give them their goods. If you seize them government will not get the money it is only individual that will get the money. You can imagine where a 2018 SUV like Range Rover Spot, will be asked to pay N1million as auction fee and you know the duty is not less than N20million and the person will be asked to pay N1million. Who is deceiving who and who is being cheated, the government is the one losing. So let the government open up window so that people will pay what they are supposed to pay”, he said.
Explaining further, he encouraged the government to ensure that appropriate penalties are paid on these vehicles with their complete duties before they can be handed over to the owners stressing that it will go a long way to discourage smuggling.
“It will not encourage smuggling and if you’re caught, you will be asked to pay penalty, if you are caught smuggling and you are asked to pay higher. You should be asked to pay for smuggling because those people that helped you in smuggling you must have paid them some amount of money. So that money will not enter into private pockets like the security agencies pocket. With that you will see that people will be discouraged from smuggling because they know that once they are caught, they will pay higher than what they should pay. If they know they still have to pay when they are caught they will be discouraged from smuggling. People that smuggle do that out of ignorance, let the customs do more sensitization program and carry out information nationwide on smuggling so that people will be discouraged. If the person is caught let the person after paying the appropriate duty still pay penalty for that. Because if they sell the car by auction the money will enter into private pocket and the government will get peanut”, he said.
Also speaking a chieftain of NAGAFF, Mr. Nnadi Ugochukwu, said that with the owner paying the full duty with penalty, it will go a long way to discourage smuggling.
“Is a good idea for those that want to be complaint; once they pay their duty, their vehicles will be given to them and for those that choose not to be complaint their goods can be seized. With that everybody should know what to pay online and carry the goods. NAGAFF have been advocating about that, not just for those at FOU Zone ‘A’, but everywhere. The owners should be allowed to pay the necessary duty and penalty and allowed to go. When the owner comes he will pay. It will not in any way encourage smuggling because if you consider what you pay as the penalty and the full duty, you won’t think of smuggling you will prefer to go through the normal channel”, he stated.
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